Todd Shanesy: Chas Dodd's talents wasted at Rutgers

Published: Saturday, December 29, 2012 at 10:03 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, December 29, 2012 at 10:03 p.m.

Rutgers first-year football head coach Kyle Flood must be stubborn.

What happened Friday night as he stuck with his undying loyalty to sophomore quarterback Gary Nova during a pathetic effort in the Russell Athletic Bowl, a 13-10 overtime loss to Virginia Tech in Orlando, Fla., was absolutely mind-boggling.

It was might have been the worst game by a quarterback in bowl history if not college football history. Nova was unwatchable.

The only reason some of us peered through our fingers at this miserable performance was to see if Byrnes High School product Chas Dodd, the record-breaking and bowl-winning starter in his first two seasons at Rutgers, would get another chance.

It didn't happen.

Nova continued to be awful. He missed three wide-open touchdown passes in the first half alone and finished 17 of 40 for 129 yards. He led the offense to just three points and that was a missed opportunity for seven. He was sacked three times as he stood in the pocket for too long, had two balls knocked down at the line of scrimmage, threw a bad interception and could have been picked off five — yes, five — other times.

ESPN commentator Matt Millen, a former NFL player and general manager, said Nova has "awful footwork" and "throws a terrible deep ball."

Truth be told, despite leading Rutgers to a share of the Big East championship behind a strong defense, Nova hasn't been that good. He racked up more than 2,500 yards, but if Virginia Tech had held on to the would-be interceptions, Nova would have finished with more picks than touchdowns. The Scarlet Knights were seventh in passing offense, ahead of only Temple. In the red zone, they were dead-last in the league and not in the top 100 teams on the FBS level.

For the final third of the season, Nova actually got worse, ending with the lowest of low performances in the bowl game. For goodness sake, he was picked off six times by Kent State. In the final three games of the regular season, Nova threw five picks and the only win was 10-3.

And, yet, Dodd barely saw the field in his junior season.

Dodd started 16 games in his first two years, breaking numerous school records as a freshman (including 322 yards and two TDs in his first career start against Connecticut and four TD passes against Cincinnati) and leading Rutgers to a bowl victory against Iowa State as a sophomore.

This year, however, Dodd appeared briefly in three games. He threw one pass.

How this happened is beyond my understanding. How he never got a chance even in a mop-up role cries not only of stubbornness by the head coach, but perhaps something much, much worse.

Rutgers desperately needed a spark in the bowl game. Why not try Dodd?

In the postgame news conference, Flood was flooded with tough questions.

Reporter: "Are you confident in Nova as your starting quarterback going into the spring or will you open the competition?"

Flood: "I'm confident in Gary as our starting quarterback."

Say what?

"Nothing I saw from him made me feel like I should make a change," Flood said.

Really? Were you watching?

Meanwhile, Nova did not appear to have been knocked down a peg.

"I don't lose confidence. I never lose confidence," he said.

And when told that Flood stated that he would not open the quarterback competition next spring to Dodd or anyone else, Nova said, "I like that. It's great."

Dodd, to the surprise of no one who has been around him, hides his frustration and shows nothing but class.

"It's been difficult," Dodd told The Star-Ledger and NJ.com a few weeks ago. "Any guy wants to play, wants to be on the field. … Right now, in my position, instead of going and crying about it, I'm going to work hard and still try to be a leader on this team."

So you can count on Dodd not getting a chance next year, his senior season, and Rutgers riding all the way with a Nova that should have been parked.

<p>Rutgers first-year football head coach Kyle Flood must be stubborn.</p><p>What happened Friday night as he stuck with his undying loyalty to sophomore quarterback Gary Nova during a pathetic effort in the Russell Athletic Bowl, a 13-10 overtime loss to Virginia Tech in Orlando, Fla., was absolutely mind-boggling.</p><p>It was might have been the worst game by a quarterback in bowl history if not college football history. Nova was unwatchable. </p><p>The only reason some of us peered through our fingers at this miserable performance was to see if Byrnes High School product Chas Dodd, the record-breaking and bowl-winning starter in his first two seasons at Rutgers, would get another chance.</p><p>It didn't happen. </p><p>Nova continued to be awful. He missed three wide-open touchdown passes in the first half alone and finished 17 of 40 for 129 yards. He led the offense to just three points and that was a missed opportunity for seven. He was sacked three times as he stood in the pocket for too long, had two balls knocked down at the line of scrimmage, threw a bad interception and could have been picked off five — yes, five — other times.</p><p>ESPN commentator Matt Millen, a former NFL player and general manager, said Nova has "awful footwork" and "throws a terrible deep ball."</p><p>Truth be told, despite leading Rutgers to a share of the Big East championship behind a strong defense, Nova hasn't been that good. He racked up more than 2,500 yards, but if Virginia Tech had held on to the would-be interceptions, Nova would have finished with more picks than touchdowns. The Scarlet Knights were seventh in passing offense, ahead of only Temple. In the red zone, they were dead-last in the league and not in the top 100 teams on the FBS level. </p><p>For the final third of the season, Nova actually got worse, ending with the lowest of low performances in the bowl game. For goodness sake, he was picked off six times by Kent State. In the final three games of the regular season, Nova threw five picks and the only win was 10-3.</p><p>And, yet, Dodd barely saw the field in his junior season. </p><p>Dodd started 16 games in his first two years, breaking numerous school records as a freshman (including 322 yards and two TDs in his first career start against Connecticut and four TD passes against Cincinnati) and leading Rutgers to a bowl victory against Iowa State as a sophomore.</p><p>This year, however, Dodd appeared briefly in three games. He threw one pass. </p><p>How this happened is beyond my understanding. How he never got a chance even in a mop-up role cries not only of stubbornness by the head coach, but perhaps something much, much worse. </p><p>Rutgers desperately needed a spark in the bowl game. Why not try Dodd?</p><p>In the postgame news conference, Flood was flooded with tough questions.</p><p>Reporter: "Are you confident in Nova as your starting quarterback going into the spring or will you open the competition?" </p><p>Flood: "I'm confident in Gary as our starting quarterback."</p><p>Say what?</p><p>"Nothing I saw from him made me feel like I should make a change," Flood said.</p><p>Really? Were you watching?</p><p>Meanwhile, Nova did not appear to have been knocked down a peg.</p><p>"I don't lose confidence. I never lose confidence," he said. </p><p>And when told that Flood stated that he would not open the quarterback competition next spring to Dodd or anyone else, Nova said, "I like that. It's great."</p><p>Dodd, to the surprise of no one who has been around him, hides his frustration and shows nothing but class.</p><p>"It's been difficult," Dodd told The Star-Ledger and NJ.com a few weeks ago. "Any guy wants to play, wants to be on the field. … Right now, in my position, instead of going and crying about it, I'm going to work hard and still try to be a leader on this team."</p><p>So you can count on Dodd not getting a chance next year, his senior season, and Rutgers riding all the way with a Nova that should have been parked.</p>